Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman has issued a stark warning about the direction of U.S. national security under President Donald Trump, raising serious concerns about competence, loyalty, and the influence of conspiracy theorists in key decisions.
Speaking to MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, Riggleman—once a member of the House Intelligence Committee and now a prominent Trump critic—reacted to recent reports that Trump ousted National Security Agency (NSA) Director Tim Haugh at the suggestion of far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
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“National security folks felt like the country could survive one Trump term, but not two, and that is a dire assessment of most folks I still talk to,” said Wallace. She then asked what such a statement truly means. Riggleman didn’t mince words. “I think the American public needs to know there’s a reason that you’re seeing what you’re seeing right now, is that loyalty trumps competence,” he said.
He continued, warning of the influence of figures like Loomer: “When you have somebody like Laura Loomer, who’s a 9/11 truther, an election denier, somebody who’s a fantasist, and somebody who might, and I would humbly submit, need psychological help — when that person is actually assisting the president in decisions like [firing NSA Director] Tim Haugh… this is an incredible man.”
Riggleman argued that this situation reveals a deeper and more disturbing pattern. “You’re seeing loyalty over competence, but you’re seeing madness over facts,” he said. “And when those two things happen… the crazies are running the asylum and the sane have been pushed out.”
Wallace, referencing post-9/11 counterterrorism strategy, asked whether that foundational approach to national security was being abandoned. Riggleman’s response was blunt: “I think it is.” He elaborated, pointing to emerging technological threats. “When you’re looking at this … the rise of AI and the rise of polymorphist threats going after our networks… why are we taking the locks off the doors with cyber command?”
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Riggleman criticized what he sees as inexperienced and unqualified individuals being given outsized influence on national security decisions. “You have, really honestly, neophytes and wet-behind-the-ear idiots that are making decisions for the United States of America, and we shouldn’t have twentysomethings running this country,” he stated.
The former congressman’s comments underscore broader fears among intelligence and military veterans that Trump’s leadership style, prioritizing loyalty and ideology over experience and stability, poses a serious risk to the country’s national security framework—especially if he secures a second term.
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